Burke delays Abbot Point decision

Environment Minister Tony Burke has given himself more time to decide whether an expansion of a north Queensland coal port will go ahead.

The Queensland government announced plans last December to expand the Abbot Point facility, north of Bowen, from three terminals to nine, making it one of the largest coal ports in the world.

Mr Burke had been expected to make his decision on the project before March 30, but on Monday announced he had signed an extension on the process which will give him until the end of the year.

The minister said he was still waiting for environmental assessments of the project to be completed.

"I have no reason to believe that it will take until the end of the year, but I just thought that was the more sensible thing to do once it was clear that the work wasn't going to be completed," he told ABC Radio.

Mr Burke said his decision was not influenced by the visit of a UN-led delegation currently auditing the environmental management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Greenpeace spokesman John Hepburn said the delay did not go far enough to protect the area.

"It is clear that outside the coal industry, very few Australians had any idea of how enormous the coal port at Abbot Point could become," he said.

Mr Hepburn said the federal government needed to wait until it had completed a strategic assessment of the effects of developments on the Great Barrier Reef before approving any more projects.